As I watch more and more cartoons with Molly and Jack, I have come to the unsettling conclusion that creators of children focused media content hate cats. I would like to vocalize my distaste for the villianization of felines within the cartoon world. When you put it all together, the portrayal of cats as miscreants is overwhelming.
This was my cat Pan (named after Peter Pan)
He loved to hang out in Chris' underwear drawer, hardly diabolical.
Cats are Psychopaths
Si and Am from Lady and The Tramp are like a cartoon preamble to Natural Born Killers Mickey and Mallory. Okay maybe that's a slight overstatement, however they sing a song about their plot to steal milk from, and presumably suffocate, a newborn baby. They are greater antagonists to this story than the dog catchers, cause at least the dog catchers are doing their jobs, whereas Si and Am focus on mass chaos and destruction for their own personal amusement.
Cats are Bent on Domination
Cats are portrayed as motivated creatures who will stop at nothing to get what they want. In Kung Fu Panda, Tai Lung (aka Bad Kitty as per Jack) betrays his master, Shi Fu, because the need for power outweighs the good in his heart. Shere Khan terrorizes the world of Jungle Book because of his hatred of man and in turn protagonist Moglie, leaving Baloo and resident wet blanket "cat" Bagheera impotent to protect him. Scar betrays his Lion King family in his quest for the crown and forms an unfavourable partnership with a group of hyenas that jeopardises the prosperity of their kingdom.
Or at least side kicks to those Seeking Domination
Cats are the side kick of choice to a super villain in need. In Inspector Gadget, Dr. Claw had Mad Cat, in He-Man Skelator fought battles atop his trusty cat Panthor and even The Smurfs bad guy loser wizard Gargamel had his cat Azriel.
This is a photo of our rescue cat Tweaker. He was deaf and screamed a lot.
As you can see he was clearly focused on world domination.
Cats are Spoiled Sissies
In Disney's cartoon version of Robin hood, Prince John is an indulgent, pampered tyrant who keeps his royal subjects in the poor house. When things get tough he relieves his tension by sucking his thumb like a baby, so he's a joke - If Game of Thrones character King Joffrey has a Disney spirit animal it would be Prince John. Cinderella serves four masters in her house, her wicked step mother, her cruel stepsisters and a big fat pampered cat named Lucifer (who is even named after the devil). In the land of cartoons even the good cats are portrayed as wimps. He-Man's cat Cringer is so fearful that he's constantly on the brink of a nervous breakdown, unless he is possessed by the Power of Greyskull and becomes Battle Cat.
Cats are Crazy
Maybe everyone is a little bit mad in Wonderland, but the Cheshire Cat (or as Molly says, "The Treasure Cat") is more than a few pickles short of a jar. In the world of reality, Alice's cat Dinah (bizzaro Cheshire cat) watches his master, Alice, fall down the rabbit hole with minimal effort to save her. Dinah is no Lassie. Madder than Wonderland's portrayal of cats is the way that cartoon sees the Hyena (yes they are cats, not dogs - I checked), stark, raving, mad lunatics, as portrayed by the hyena clan in The Lion King.
I am aware that there are some outliers here and movies that focus on feline heroes. What's the cat equivalent for "Every dog has his day"?
To read 8 lessons I learned about business from Mr. Walt Disney click here
To read about the black and white nature of children and cartoon teachings click here
To read about violence in classic cartoons click here
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